Thriving in a Digital Classroom

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when we talk about engaging in a course

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some think about how much work they put

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into the course for others it's about

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how interested they are in the topic or

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how interesting an instructor makes it

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and some say it's just a feeling they

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have about the

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course we say it's all three and they

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can work together to make a really good

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learning experience research suggests

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there are different aspects of how you

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might interact with the class there are

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behaviors like attending class doing the

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readings asking questions and turning in

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the work these are all things you do

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cognitions are about the way you think

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and learn like paying attention in class

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trying to connect to your existing

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understanding of the topic taking good

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notes in your own words and there are

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emotions like whether you feel connected

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to the class the material or the

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instructor when we like a class we are

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probably more likely to put in the

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effort to to think hard about the

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material and do our best on the work so

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in an ideal situation all three are

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aligned on the other hand say we don't

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like a class in that case it's easy for

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our minds to wander during class or

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while we're reading and even if we turn

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in the homework the action piece we

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might be less motivated to think hard

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about the answers the thinking piece in

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an Ideal World these three would always

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be present in every class but sometimes

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classes don't interest us or it isn't

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structured in a way that works for us or

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we might have other

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priorities any one of these challenges

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can get in the way of our engagement and

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success in a course so what can we do

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about it next we'll talk about three

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strategies to help you increase your

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engagement our first suggestion is to

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create

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structure online courses often feel less

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structured than in person courses you

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don't have a place to be at a certain

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time they may not have office hours and

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specific due dates and exam

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times this might mean you're less sure

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about what to do next or maybe you know

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what to do next but you don't feel a

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sense of urgency because there's no

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deadline in both of these cases creating

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your own structure might help here's

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what we

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mean first create school times block off

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times in your calendar or even in your

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mind that are just for school that way

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you'll be left likely to schedule other

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things over it then during these times

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you can do whatever you need to do for

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your online coursework second set goals

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goals can help motivate us especially if

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they're hard enough to challenge us but

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not so hard they make us give up in

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online courses your goals will depend on

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whether you're taking it for credit if

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it's part of your degree and so on but

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in general you could think about goals

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that work for you around things like how

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much of the material you'll complete how

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quickly you want to finish the course

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what scores you want to get third

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remember why you're taking the course is

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it helping you earn a degree is it a

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topic you're interested in whatever your

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reason think of a way to post it

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somewhere you see it maybe you write

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your why on a sticky note on your

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computer or maybe you find a word or

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picture that represents your future

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career do whatever works for you

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our second strategy is for the feeling

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components of engagement the best

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learning takes place when you interact

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with others when you interact with your

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peers you think about problems and

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information through another person's

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eyes when you interact with someone more

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knowledgeable than you about a topic you

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learn how an expert approaches a problem

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in addition people who feel more

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connected or more likely to continue

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with a class even when the class is

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challenging while there are obvious

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benefits to making these connections

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there can also be challenges that get in

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the way maybe a course doesn't have

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social interaction built in maybe people

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are in different countries or time zones

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or maybe some students just don't have

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the time or interest to be social but

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connection can mean a lot of things you

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might want to build a connection with

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peers or with the instructor but it's

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also okay if that's not what you're

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looking for maybe what would help you

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more is connecting with the coursework

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and how it will lead to your future

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career

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the key is to find and build the kind of

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connection that matters most to you so

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how can you build connections we have

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five ideas first start a study group you

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can meet at the same time but virtually

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or start a group chat where you exchange

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questions and answers as needed second

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ask for a social space you might reach

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out to your instructor and ask for a

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social outlet for the course like Piazza

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Slack Discord or GroupMe third

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try going to office hours ask the

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instructor a question about the course

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material their experience in the field

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or next steps think of it as a chance

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for you to get to know each other even a

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little bit next keep your camera on if

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you're willing many people find that

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seeing each other's faces helps them it

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also makes some people more likely to

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pay attention and finally try to connect

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the content to your goals maybe this is

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required for another class or important

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for your major or

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career or if you're not sure how it

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connects that would be a great question

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to ask in office

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hours third let's talk about a way that

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might help you with all three the action

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thinking and feeling pieces of

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engagement taking ownership of your

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learning the truth is in online courses

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the model of learning is different if

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you're used to a lot of structure and

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deadlines it can be hard to start doing

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it all on your own and sometimes people

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feel that without a person lecturing

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they are learning on their own or

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teaching themselves take a moment to ask

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yourself how you feel about this

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Independence are you disappointed by the

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lack of structure or lectures or do you

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prefer

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it if you do feel some disappointment

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it's important to know that so you can

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figure out the best way to move forward

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in other words it's important for you to

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identify what works for you or not and

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what you might do about it we'll offer a

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few ideas to get you started students

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who take an active role in their

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learning are more likely to succeed and

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persist in higher

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education what might that look like

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first try to find something you value

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about Independent Learning maybe you

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like to choose your pace of learning

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maybe you like adding your own structure

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to the coursework or maybe you like to

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choose exactly when you do the work

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second make your assignment choices

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carefully

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choose what fits your interest and goals

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what you find most rewarding or what

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challenges you next track your progress

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if it helps you keep on track check your

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grades frequently and seek help if you

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need it if that stresses you out track a

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different way for example that you're

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turning in things in according to goal

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dates you set for yourself or according

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to the

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syllabus finally try to integrate your

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course material into your everyday life

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talk about what you're learning with

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someone close to you think about the

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chemical composition of caffeine with

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your morning coffee ask yourself how the

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height of a building can be calculated

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by the length of its

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shadow even if you don't know the

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answers it's a reminder that you're

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learning things that could be useful in

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many

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contexts sometimes certain classes just

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don't suit us something about the timing

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the structure the topic or other

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students just don't pull us in it

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happens but it may be time to seek help

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if your feelings go beyond this for

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example if you're not feeling engaged in

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any of your courses or you're feeling

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very socially isolated in this case your

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lack of engagement might be related to

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mental health issues like anxiety or

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depression if you think this might be

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the case for you consider getting help

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from a family member instructor adviser

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or

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counselor